Continuous framing accessories for structural beams



Oct. 16, 1962 w. HAWES 3, 58, 53

CONTINUOUS FRAMING ACCESSORIES FOR STRUCTURAL BEAMS Filed April 27, 1960 mil 1; l

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INVEN TOR. Mu MM h. HAM E5 s WM ATTOPNE Y6 United States Patent 3,858,553 ONTEUOUS FRAMENG AQCESSQRES FOR STRUQTURAL BEAMS Wiiliam H. Hawes, 7129 1st Ave. 8., Minneapolis, Minn. Filed Apr. 27, 1960, Ser. No. 25,039 Claims. (Cl. 189-36) This inventon relates to continuous metallic framing construction and more particular to beam to girder connections in continuous beam construction. The girder and other additional members in the system may be of simple continuous, or semi-rigid construction.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel welding connection mechanism, of simple and inexpensive construction, for readily interconnecting beams and girders.

"Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved welded connection mechanism for interconnecting beam members to girders in a continuous framing construction and which is arranged and constructed to develop the full plastic modulus of the members with consequent bafiies.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved horizontally disposed continuous framing construction including a plurality of beams having their ends welded to girders for support thereby, and including clamping means clamping the beams in supporting relation with regard to the girders prior to applying the welding therebetween so that the beams may be erected and positioned in place without necessitating immediate welding.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like character references refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of my novel connecting mechanism shown in connecting relation with a beam and girder;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken approximately along line 22 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a continuous framing construction incorporating my invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged rear perspective of the fitting member of my novel welded connecting mechanism; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative form of the splicing plate.

Referring now to the drawings, a horizontally disposed framing construction, generally designated in its entirety by the reference numeral includes a plurality of supporting girders 11 interconnected in substantially rightangular relation by a plurality of beams 12 as best seen in FIG. 3. Although only one of the supporting girders 11 is illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, it is understood that the continuous framing construction 10 includes a plurality of such supporting girders disposed in substantially parallel relation and which are arranged for support of the beams 12 which extend therebetween.

It will be noted that girder 11, as best seen in FIG. 1, is of substantially Lshaped cross sectional configuration and includes an upright central web 13 which interconnects the lower and upper flanges 14 and 15 respectively. The beams 12 are also of substantially I-shaped cross sectional configuration, as best seen in FIG. 2, and each includes an upright web 16 which interconnects an upper flange 17 with a lower flange 18 thereof.

It will also be noted that the depth of the beams is somewhat less than the depths of the girder and that a welded connection mechanism interconnects one end of Patented Oct. 16, 1962 e1; a: each of the beams 12 to the girder 11 such that the end of a beam is disposed in juxtaposed relation to the upright central Web 13 of the girder.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the beams are disposed in substantially right-angular relation to the girder 11 and are arranged in opposed pairs on opposite sides of the web 13 of the girder. The c011- tinuous framing construction 10 is arranged and constructed so that the upper flanges of the beams are disposed in substantially co-planar relation with the upper flange of the girders. This arrangement is especially suitable for floor framing as well as roof framing.

Each of the welded connection mechanism 19 includes a seat angle or bracket 20 which as seen in FIG. 1 includes legs 21 and 22 interconnected in right angular relationship. It will be noted that leg 21 is disposed in abutting relation to the upright central web 13 of girder 11 such that leg 22 extends from the lower edge of the leg 21 outwardly between and substantially parallel to the upper and lower flanges 14 and 15 of girder 11. A small spacing ledge 23 extends along the juncture of legs 21 and 22 and the uppermost surface of this ledge 23 extends outwardly from the outer surface of vertical leg 21 a distance of approximately of an inch while this surface is spaced from the uppermost surface of leg 22 a distance of approximately of an inch. A fillet weld 24 extending between leg 21 and web 13 of girder 11 securely affixes bracket 20 to the girder. This weld would normally be applied in the fabricating shop. Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that each of the seat brackets 20 is provided with a pair of stops 25 each aflixed to the uppermost surface of leg 22 adjacent opposed edges thereof. The function of these stops 25 will be more fully explained hereinbelow.

My novel connection mechanism 19 also includes a fitting member 26 which as seen in FIG. 4 is of substantially flat rectangular shape. Fitting member 26 serves to interconnect one end of a beam 12 to the seat bracket 20 and includes an upstanding lip 27 formed along one edge thereof. It will be noted that lip 27 is of substantially trapezoidal cross sectional configuration and defines an outer butt-welding surface 28 and an inner butt-Welding surface 29.

Referring still to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the uppermost surface of fitting member 26 is also provided with a pair of spaced apart welding extension elements 30, one of which is positioned adjacent to one edge of the fitting member 26 and the other positioned adjacent the opposite edge of the fitting member. It will also be noted that these welding extension elements 30 are in the form of narrow upright ledges and each defines a welding surface 31 positioned in close proximity to the intermost of the butt-welding surfaces 31 are disposed in substantially co-planar vertical relation.

Each of the fitting members 26 is secured to the lowermost flange 18 of one of the beams 12 by welding. The lowermost flange 18 of beam 12 is disposed in abutting relationship with the uppermost surface of fitting 26 so that the end of the beam flange 12 extends between and is substantially co-planar with the extension welding surfaces 31. The end of the flange 18 is lbuttwelded to the inner butt-welding surface 29 by a buttweld 32 and it will be noted that weld 32 not only extends along the end of the flange 18 but also along the extension welding surfaces 31. To completely develop the plastic modulus of the beam, a fillet weld 33 is applied between the edges of the lower flange 18 and the uppermost surface of the fitting where practical, or as an alternate, a fillet weld 34 is applied between the rear edge 26a of fitting 26 and face 18a of lower flange 18.

The butt-weld 32 and fillet welds 33 and 34- would normally be shop welds. When the beam 12 is provided with such a fitting 26, the fitting will be seated upon leg 22 of seat bracket 30 so that the forwardmost vertical edge 26b of the fitting is spaced in close proximity to the vertical surface of the small spacing ledge 23. The fitting is thereafter butt-welded to the seat bracket 20 by means of a weld 35 which extends between the outermost welding surfaces 29 and the vertical leg 21.

Quite oftentimes, however, it will not be desirable or convenient to make the field weld 35 between the fitting 26 and bracket 20, because for example, of inclement weather conditions. Therefore, in order to positively retain the beams 12 in their erected position for welding, my novel connection mechanism 19 also includes a substantially rectangular upper splice member or plate 36. This splice plate 36, as best seen in FIG. 1, is cambered and is provided with a pair of openings through which bolts 37 extend. These bolts 37 also extend through registering openings formed in the upper flange 15 of girder 13 and are secured by nuts 38. The outermost end portions of splice 36 engage the upper flanges 17 'of opposed pairs of beams 12. These flanges 17 of the beams 12, as best seen in FIG. 1, are positioned slightly above the plane of the upper flange 15 of girder 13 and because of the cambered arcuate shape of the splice plate 36, the splice plates will impart a clamping action upon these uppermost flanges 17 when the bolts are tightened in place. The outer ends of the splice plate have recesses or notches formed therein so that a fillet weld 40 may be applied thereto for securing the splice plates to the uppermost flanges 17 of beams 12. It will be seen that by means of the splice plate 36 the beam may be clamped into place on seating bracket 20 prior to the application of the fillet welds 35 and 40 so that the framing construction may be erected with the various members securely clamped in place.

Referring now to FIG. 5, it will be seen that an alternative form of the splice plate is shown. The splice plate 36a as shown in FIG. 5, is of substantially elongate rectangular shape and has a width dimension less than the width of splice plate 36 but is thicker than splice plate 36. Splice plate 36a also has a pair of threaded studs 37 aifixed to the lower surface thereof and which are adapted to extend through openings formed in the upper flange of girder 13.

It is understood, of course, that the beams 12 in my continuous framing construction 10 will be connected in the outermost span to the outer supporting girder in the conventional manner although this feature is now shown in the drawings.

Referring now to FIG. 1, it will be seen that there is a small clearance between surface 26b and the small spacing ledge 23. In the event the surface 26b and the member 26 is positioned in abutting relation against the vertical surface of the small ledge 23 there will still be sufiicient clearance between the vertical bracket leg 21 and the outer butt-welding surface 28 to permit these parts to be butt welded together. The stop members 25 on seat bracket facilitate the centering of the fitting member 26 upon the seat bracket and these stop members cooperate with the splice plate 36 for retaining the entire beam upon the seat bracket prior to field welding the fitting to the seat bracket.

Referring now to FIG. 2 it will be seen that the lower beam flange 18 is substantially centered on the fitting 26 so that the end edge of this bottom flange 18 cooperates with the extension elements 30 to actually define a continuous welding surface which is butt-welded to the innermost butt-welding surface 29. These extension elements 30 are spaced in close proximity to the side edge of the beam flange 18 so that no welding material will flow between the side edge and the edge of the extension. Each of these extensions 30 extends outwardly from the edge of the flange a distance at least equal to the distance between the uppermost surface of lip Y27 and the upper surface of the fitting 26 (distance 4 equal to the thickest part to be butt-welded), though they will normally, and are shown to, extend to the edges of fitting 26. The fitting 26 is extended outwardly from the edges of the beam flange 18 'a distance at least equal to the distance between the uppermost surface of lip 27 and lower surface of fitting 26.

The particular cooperative relation between the fitting member 26 and bracket 20 not only permits the overall length of the beams 12 assembled with the fittings '26 to be made a length substantially shorter than the length between the adjacent girders so that there may be sufficient erection clearance between the webs of the supporting girders but the fitting and bracket cooperate to obviate the necessity of a special preparation for buttwelding of the beam end, resulting in a substantial saving in labor. My particular manner of interconnecting beams to girders in a continuous framing system is capable of dependably developing the full plastic modulus of the beam section allowing the application of the plastic design concept. It has been found that by utilizing my novel welded connection mechanism in a continuous framing system of the type described herein above, that the load bearing capacity of the interior beam members is increased to a point that a substantial reduction in weight of these interior beam members may be effected. Actually, this reduction in weight of the interior members may amount to as much as 50 percent while at the same time resulting in a reduction of the full load deflection of the interior beam members over 50 percent. The reductions in weight and deflection of the exterior spans will be somewhat less.

It will be noted from the preceding paragraphs that I have provided a novel welded connection mechanism which permits beams to be connected to girders such that the upper flanges of the girders and the beams are disposed in substantially horizontal relation and which is arranged and constructed to permit the structural members to be retained in their erected state prior to the application of the Welds therebetween. It will be seen that this arrangement permits the erection of my continuous framing system in a two-step process whereby the structural members may be clamped in an erected state and thereafter welded to thereby allow rapid construction of such systems even in inclement weather.

Thus, it will be seen that' I have provided a unique, continuous framing construction which not only permits an extensive saving in material and labor but is also of durable and efiicient construction.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Welded connection mechanism for connecting beams in transverse relation to a flanged supporting girder in which the ends of the beams are disposed in juxtaposed relation to the upright web of the supporting girder, said mechanism com-prising a seat bracket including a pair of legs connected in right angular relation and one of which is adapted to be secured in abutting relation to the upright web of the supporting girder, the other of said legs extending outwardly from the lower portion of said one leg and being substantially parallel to the flange of the girder when said bracket is so connected to the latter, said seat bracket including a small spacing ledge extending along the juncture of said bracket legs, a substantially flat, shaped fitting member welded to the undersurface of the lower beam flange adjacent the end thereof and projecting longitudinally therefrom, said fitting member being positioned upon the other of said bracket legs and including a transversely extending lip projecting upwardly adjacent the outer edge thereof and defining inner and outer transversely extending buttwelding surfaces, said outer butt-Welding surface being disposed in close proximity to said spacing ledge when said beam fitting member is positioned upon said seat bracket to thereby permit a butt-weld to be applied between said seat bracket and said outer butt-welding surfaces, said inner butt-welding surface of said fitting member being butt welded to end face of a beam flange, and a splice member secured to one of the upper flanges of the beam and girder and engaging the other of the upper flanges of the beam and girder to thereby clamp the beam against the supporting girder seat bracket prior ot the application of the butt-welding between said seat bracket and said outer butt-welding surface.

2. A welding connection mechanism for connecting beams in substantially right angular relation to a flanged supporting girder in which the end of the beams are disposed in juxtaposed relation to the upright web of the supporting girder, said mechanism comprising a seat angle including a pair of legs connected in right angular relation and one of which is adapted to be secured in abutting relation to the upright Web of the supporting girder, the other of said legs extending outwardly from the lower portion of said one leg and being disposed between and substantially parallel to the flanges of the girder when said bracket is so connected to the latter, said seat bracket including a small spacing ledge extending transversely along the juncture of said bracket legs, a substantially flat rectangular shaped fitting member of a width greater than the width of the beam and being secured in abutting relation to the lower surface of the lower beam flange by means of fillet welds and projecting longitudinally from the end of the beam, said fitting member being of a width substantially less than the width of said bracket legs and having a transversely extending lip portion projecting upwardly from adjacent the outer edge thereof and defining inner and outer inclined buttwelding surfaces and being positioned upon the other of said bracket legs with said outer butt-welding surface being disposed in close proximity to said spacing ledge, said inner butt-welding surface of said fitting member being adapted to be butt welded to the end of the lower beam flange and a butt-weld applied between said outer buttwelding surface and said one bracket leg, and a splicing member secured to one of the upper flanges of the beam and girder and engaging the other of the upper flanges of the beam and girder to clamp the beam upon the seat bracket prior to the application of said butt-welds.

3. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein the other of said seat bracket legs is provided with a pair of spaced apart upstanding stop elements disposed adjacent opposed edges of said fitting member.

4. Welded connection mechanism for connecting beams in substantially right angular relation to a flange suppor ing girder in which the ends of the beams are disposed in juxtaposed relation to the upright Web of a supporting girder, said mechanism including a seat angle including a pair of legs interconnected in right angular relation one of which is adapted to be secured in abutting relation to the upright web of the supporting girder, the other of said legs extending outwardly from th lower portion of said one leg and being disposed between and substantially parallel to the flanges of the girder when said bracket is so connected to the latter, said seat bracket including a small spacing ledge disposed adjacent the juncture of said bracket legs, a substantially flat rectangular shaped fitting member of a width greater than the width of the flanges of the beam and being secured in abutting relation to the lower surface of the lower beam flange by means of fillet welds, and projecting longitudinally therefrom, a

fitting member positioned upon the other of said bracket legs and being of a width substantially less than the width of said other bracket leg, and an enlarged lip extending transversely along the outer edge of said fitting and being of trapezoidal cross sectional configuration to define incline buttwelding surfaces one of which is spaced inwardly from said fitting member edge, the outermost of said butt-welding surfaces being disposed in close proxirnity to said spacing ledge to permit a butt weld to be applied therebetween, a pair of spaced apart welding elements secured to said fitting member and defining welding extension surfaces arranged in co-planar relation and being disposed in closely spaced opposed relation to the inner of said butt-welding surfaces, said fitting member adapted to be engaged by a beam with a beam flange disposed between the extension elements such that said welding extension surfaces will cooperate with the beam flange end to form a continuous butt welding surface therewith to be welded to said inner butt-welding surface, and a splice member secured to one of the upper flanges of said beam and girder and engaging the other of said upper flanges of the beam and girder to thereby clamp the beam upon the seat bracket of the supporting girder prior to butt-welding said fitting to said seat bracket.

5. Welded connection mechanism for connecting beams in transverse relation to a flanged supporting girder in which the ends of the beams are disposed in juxtaposed relation to the upright web of the supporting girder, said mechanism comprising a seat bracket including a pair of legs inter-connected in right-angular relation and one of which is adapted to be secured in abutting relation to the upright web of the supporting girder, the other of said legs extending outwardly from the lower portion of said one leg and being substantially parallel to the flange of the girder when said bracket is so connected to the latter, a substantially flat, rectangular shaped fitting member disposed in abutting relation against the lower surface of the lower beam flange and being secured thereto by means of fillet welds to project longitudinally from the end of the beam, said fitting member being positioned upon the other of said bracket legs and including a transversely extending outer butt-welding surface along the outer edge thereof, cooperating positioning elements on said fitting member and seat bracket for centering said fitting member upon said seat bracket with the butt-welding surface of the former being disposed in close proximity to said one bracket leg, an inner butt-welding surface on said fitting member disposed in substantially opposed relation to the face of the lower beam flange, a butt weld between said inner butt-welding surface and the lower beam flange face and a weld between said outer butt-welding surface of said fitting and said one bracket leg, and a splice member socured to one of the upper flanges of the beam and girder and engaging the other of the upper flanges of the beam and girder to thereby clamp the beam against the seat angle of the supporting girder prior to the application of said butt-welds.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,883,376 Hilpert et al Oct. 18, 1932 2,382,584 Scheyer Aug. 14, 1945 2,796,839 Anjeskey June 25, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 438,005 Germany Dec. 1, 1926 

